[G4] dead G4

[Ronald Steinke]

On 28 December, 2005, at 6:49:47, Larry Parsons wrote:

> No, I haven't touched the ram but I did pull the PRAM battery and  
> replace it with a working one from an old PCI model G4 that I am  
> parting out. There didn't seem to be any difference in batteries  
> other than the mfgr.
> I've tried the reset button next to the battery and still not even  
> a murmer.  I'm not getting any signs of life at all, not even the  
> fan in the power supply spins.
> Could a fresh battery help?

 From your comments, I would bet on the power supply having died on you.

I have never known a G4 to fail to operate because the battery was  
low or dead, but I haven't seen everything yet. Most of the battery  
problems that I get to see are simply an announcement of the wrong  
time and date during the startup process. The old PM 6100 line would  
refuse to start the video circuit if the battery had gone south, but  
those were the only ones that I ever saw and they could be  
temporarily fixed by doing a rapid hard restart (push the power  
button to off and back to on real fast after waiting about a minute  
with no video signal output).

If the power supply fan doesn't even start to spin, you have a  
serious problem with either the power supply or the mother board. A:  
the power supply is hosed or B: the mother board isn't passing the  
current to the power supply when you push the power button.

The power supply may have a fuse that has blown, but finding it and  
replacing it can be a real chore. It's inside the PS case and you  
have to take the risk of damaging some other component if you open  
the case

First, try switching the power supply if you have another good one  
available. Then, try switching the mother board in the same way.

If no replacements are available even as a temporary loan from a  
friend, you are in for a long repair job at your local Mac store. My  
experience is that such replacements take at least a week to ten days  
and that is why I do all my repairs/replacements myself.

Good luck.